Software Security Warnings – Ignored Most of the Time by the Computer Users

If you are a software developer, then you should be aware of the right time when your software security warning should be displayed on the screen of your users so that they can really pay attention to the same. A recent study from BYU has proved that 90% of the time the users just ignore the message because they were doing something important and did not have time to see those pop-up messages.

The study of BYU was done in collaboration with the engineers of Google Chrome finds that most of the time these pop-up messages appear haphazardly. In most of the cases, people are typing something vital or watching a good video when they see those messages blocking them from what they are doing. It is obvious that they feel irritated because of those messages and most of the cases they do not even bother to read the full message and click the “not now” or “ignore” button to get rid of the same.

Find Out The Right Time

The study does not only find out the percentage of the reason for ignoring such kind of messages, but it also focuses on what the software developers should do to avoid such kind of situation and make their messages noticeable for the common users. There should be the right time for displaying these messages; a perfect time when the users will not feel disturbed because of them and like to concentrate on the same.

You can choose the best time for the same as per the common trend of the users to do tasks on the web on their computers.

• After they watch the video
• After they transfer the information
• At the end of uploading the file or downloading the same
• Once the page is loaded completely

There is a high chance of getting the attention of the users successfully if the software security messages will be displayed on the screen at those above mentioned times.

The Matter Of Interference

There is a neural limitation in the human brain that prevents them from multitasking. When the users are doing something with full concentration, then they do not tend to get involved in something else and keep that second task for “later”. It seems like that message is interfering in whatever they are doing presently. It appears that they will lose the level of their performance because of that interference, and they do not like it at all. Thus they prefer to ignore the message and concentrate on their ongoing tasks like uploading a file or watching a video.

Matter Of Common Sense

You can realize the reason behind ignoring these messages by the common users with the help of common sense. But it seems that the software developers fail to use their common sense when setting the timing for those pop-up messages. They should realize when a person is more likely to give a reply and act accordingly to solve their software security-related issues as per the messages. In such a way, those messages can get better and proper responses, and users can use the software in a secure manner.